A winding creek that jogs through Canyonlands National Park to a spectacular sandstone arch is not a road, and that finding by a federal judge could send reverberations throughout many Western states determined to expand access across the federal landscape.

To help encourage folks to get out and enjoy National Great Outdoors Month in June, a wide array of campgrounds across the country, many close to national parks, are offering a 20 percent discount on camping fees.

Featured Photographer

Tom Till

Tom Till is one of America's most published photographers. Over 150,000 of his images have appeared in print since 1977. In 1998, Till opened the Tom Till Gallery in Moab, Utah. Till's images depict landscape, nature, history, and travel subjects worldwide, including all fifty states and nearly sixty countries overseas.

Arches is one of the world's, not just one of the United States', most incredible national parks.

When you gaze at Balanced Rock, climb up into the Windows, or walk under Delicate Arch, it's hard to argue against that claim. The park's rock-itecture -- windows cut from stone, spindly arches longer than a football field, thin fins of rock -- and desertscape are otherworldly.

Climate change is leading to a sizeable decrease in stream flows in the major river basins of the Southwest, declines that could impact recreation and wildlife in national parks such as Arches, Canyonlands, and Big Bend, according to an Interior Department report.

The windshield touring season will see motorists from all over America and the world converging on the scenic drives in our national parks. Here are some traverses, loops, and shuttles in the western parks that belong on anybody's short list.

Great paddling adventures are ready to be had in the National Park System, whether you intend to spend just a few hours or a week or more on the water. Here's a look at some great choices for where to dip a paddle.

If you want outdoor adventure in a Utah national park, but feel you don't have the necessary skills or local knowledge, it's time to call in a guide. Here's what you need to know to make the right choice.

As it continues to improve its web presence, the National Park Service has made it easier for you to find information on the parks in your state...as well as on other Park Service-related entities, such as properties on the national register, or wild and scenic rivers, or historic trails.

If you've ever sat back in El Capitan Meadow in Yosemite National Park to watch climbers ascending that massive granite wall from which the meadow takes its name, odds are you never noticed the "hundreds" of fixed anchors climbers have over the years drilled into that monolith. And yet, they're there.

As the effects of climate change intensify in the Southwest, future visits to Arches and Canyonlands national parks could coincide with more dust storms than what currently is considered usual, according to a joint study by U.S. Geological Survey and University of California scientists.

If you've got some artistic flare, and a desire to spend some time in the high desert of southeastern Utah, now is the time to get your application in for the 2011 Community Artist in the Parks Program.

Hiking trails are one of the best ways to enjoy national parks. They lead you out into nature, get you some exercise, and quite often showcase some gorgeous vistas. Here's a look back at some of the great trails we've mentioned on the Traveler during the past 12 months.

Though summer draws the bulk of Bryce Canyon National Park's 1.2 million annual visitors, a strong argument can be made that winter is a more fascinating time to visit this red-rock icon. The sharp contrasts between fresh-fallen snow, cerulean skies, and the park's red-hued amphitheaters are spectacular. If you can manage a winter escape, here are some tips for touring Bryce Canyon.

It's not often that, upon pulling up to a national park's entrance gate, your arrival is applauded. That's what happened to Victoria Carlson, though, when she arrived at Arches National Park and became the park's 1 millionth visitor of the year.

Winter long has been regarded as the slow season for national park visits, and that's a good thing if you prefer to have the parks to yourself. With most travelers confined by school schedules to the summer months, and many convinced winter is a bad time to be outdoors, you can savor the best of the parks from coast to coast in winter. Here are some snapshots of wintry fun in the parks that bear that out.

Fresh off their Election Day tidal wave, and energized by it, Republican members of the House Natural Resources Committee are planning big changes for public lands in the West, changes that could greatly impact national parks.

Baked by time like some multi-layer geologic tort, Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah features a landscape cut by canyons, rumpled by upthrusts, dimpled by grabens, and even pockmarked, some believe, by asteroids.

John Wessels finds himself in arguably one of the best jobs in the National Park Service, that as director of the agency's sprawling Intermountain Region, and yet there probably aren't many who envy him at this point.

Part travelogue, part warning shot across the bow, Jonathan Waterman in his latest book takes us on a year-long journey down the Colorado River from source to the Sea of Cortez that should scare the wits out of those in the Southwest convince them to read the dusty writing on the wall.

Former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association, a somewhat curious, and likely controversial, move in light of his oversight of the national parks.

Long a bone of contention between state, local and federal authorities when it comes to public lands access is a nearly 150-year-old law initially passed to help advance westward expansion. Now Interior Secretary Ken Salazar hopes a pilot program in Utah can generate a solution to R.S. 2477 controversies.

John Wessels, who has served as the National Park Service’s Intermountain Region associate director for administration, business and technology since 2004, has been named director of the region, the largest in the agency.

As we bring an end to our week-long fund-raising drive to keep the Traveler on-line, we'd like to thank the many readers who responded with donations, and make a final request to those sitting on the fence.